Apparatus for internal wiring



N. STEN APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL WIRING Jam. 30, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 23, 1965 Jan. 30,- 1968 s 3,365,780

APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL WIRING Filed Aug. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 30, 1968 Filed Aug. 23, 1965 N. STEN APPARATUS INTERNAL WIRING 4 Sheets-Sheet s Jan. 30, 1968 s APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL WIRING 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 2:5, 1965 United States Patent Ofi ice 3,365,73fi Patented Jan. 39, 1968 3,355,780 APPARATUS FUR INTERNAL WIRING Nathan Sten, 1274 E. 53th St., Brooklyn, N-Y. 11234 Filed Aug. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 481,979 4 Claims. (U1. 29-203) ABSTRACT BE THE DISCLQSURE A machine for automatically wiring the interior of a unit, such as a lamp fixture, having a non-linear configuration. A serrated drive wheel working in conjunction with a carrier wheel grips the wire and thrusts it forwardly through means to sense a backup of the Wire and out into the fixture through a nozzle, specially designed to introduce the wire into the specific fixture.

This invention relates generally to a method and device for wiring the interior of items, and more particularly to the wiring of lamp fixtures having wires passing through and around curves and joints, although it has utility in other fields.

Prior to the introduction of the present invention, lamp fixtures and the like were wired by hand, utilizing more or less such time-saving techniques as a ball and chain, passed through the unobstructed interior of a fixture with an electrical wire attached to the end of the chain. The most common method remains the direct feeding of an electrical wire through the interior of a fixture.

This method of threading wire through the interior of the fixture is very time consuming. A complicated lighting fixture as, for example, a French Provincial design, or a swing lamp, requires one-half hour to complete the wiring operation.

Accordingly, it is among the principal objects of the present invention to provide a wiring apparatus which will allow the wire to be fed through the interior of a lighting fixture, automatically.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described which will turn on automatically as soon as the wire is fed into the machine, and will turn off automatically as soon as the wire has completed its travel through the fixture.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved automatic wiring device which will turn off automatically and instantaneously, should the wire, being fed, hit an obstruction within the interior of the fixture.

et another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device which will allow double strands of wire to be fed into a fixture simultaneously.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved wiring apparatus which will allow the back pressure from an obstruction, required to stop operation of the machine, to be varied or turned off entireiy.

The invention consists of a spring-actuated feeding device which drives the wire through an interior passage in the machine and out through a specially designed nozzle opening. The nozzle is made in many different designs and shapes and is particularly adapted for a particular fixture.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device of a character described which will be inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and durable in use to a high degree.

A feature of the present invention is the detachability of various designs of nozzles and corresponding members to allow any fixtures to be wired.

These objects and features, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will more fully appear in the progress in this disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is a side view, partly cut away and partly in section, of a wiring device embodying my invention.

FIGURE 2 is a basic design of a nozzle.

FIGURE 3 is an end view as seen from plane 33 in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged perspective View of an element utilized with the nozzle of FIGURE 3 to insure passage of a wire through a bend in a fixture.

FIGURE 5 is a side View, partly cut away, and part y in section, showing a wire passing through the interior of the fixture with the nozzle and element in place to insure the same.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view as seen from the plane 66 on FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 7 is a side view, partly cut away and partly in section, of another embodiment of my invention.

FIGURE 8 is a side view of another embodiment of my invention.

FIGURE 9 is an end view as seen from the plane 9-9 A on FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a side view of a different design of a nozzle.

FIGURE 11 is a side view of a different design of a nozzle.

FIGURE 12 is a side view of a diiferent design of a nozzle.

FIGURE 13 is a side view of a different design of a nozzle.

FIGURE 14 is a plan view of FIGURE 13.

FIGURE 15 is a plan view of a mating element with the nozzle of FIGURE 13.

Turning to FIGURE 1 there is shown a wiring apparatus for feeding a wire It) into a fixture, the machine 12 being mounted on a base 14 and comprising broadly a feed portion 16, a jamming sensor 18, and a feedout portion 20.

More particularly the feed portion 16 includes a lower member 22 having holes 24 which match with holes 26 in the base 14. The member 22 and the base are secured by bolts 28.

The member 22 is further defined by a rear surface 36, a top surface 32 and an interior cavity 34.

Within the cavity is a serrated wheel 36. There is a flat land 37 of a minimum of 0.005 inch on each tooth. If the land is too sharp, it will cut into the wire; if it is too dull, it will not grip the wire. The angle between the teeth is 60 which is the minimum angle to allow gripping of the wire until the tooth reaches top dead center, at which point the land just guides the wire and does not grip it. The wheel 36 is mounted on a shaft 38 which in turn is rotated in bearings (not shown) and driven by a power source (not shown).

The upper carrier member 4%) is defined by a rear surface 42, a top surface 43, a bottom surface 44, a forward surface 45, and an interior cavity 46.

Within the cavity is a follower and pressure roller 48 having impressed therein roller bearings 50. A yoke 52 is secured to a shaft 53 which is also secured to the roller 43 and is journaled within the interior cavity of the carrier member 40*. The yoke has two threaded bores 54 (FIG. 6).

r 3 Mounted atop the base 14 are two symmetrical pillars 56 having a bottom surface 58 abutting the top surface of the base 14 and having an interior cavity 60 with an upper edge 62. An elongated bolt 66 is received within a threaded bore 64.

A plate 72 has a threaded hole 74 through which passes a bolt 68 with a nut 76 positioning the plate as desired. The bolt is received within a threaded hole 69 on the side of the yoke 52. On the far end of the plate is a bolt 78 which is able to make contact with a relay 79. Positioned within the interior cavity 60 is a coil spring 80 bearing against the bolt 66 and against the yoke 52 maintaining the roller 48 in a downwardly position.

Now turning to the jamming sensor, there is shown a secondary base 82 secured to the member 22 by steel plate 84 and a bolt 86. Mounted upon the base 82 is a pressure adjustment member 88 by means of a bolt 90. The adjustment member has a threaded hole 92 containing an adjustment bolt 94. Secured to the upper carrier member 40 is a wire guide member 96 comprising an upper element 98 which is rigidly secured to the member 40 by means of bolts 100. The lower surface 102 of the element 98 is composed of a forwardly angularly disposed portion 104 and a level portion 106. The lower element 108 consists of a movable portion 110 and a stationary portion 112. The lower element has an upper surface 113 comparing a forwardly angularly disposed portion 114 and a level portion 115. The movable portion 110 has a threaded hole 116. Secured to the rear surface 117 of the movable portion'is a plate 118 having a hole 119. A bolt 120 secures the plate to the portion 110. Positioned between the bolt and in the hole 92 and against the bolt 94 is a spring 122, to allow adjustment of the force exerted rearwardly by the portion 110. The plate 118 has an electrical contact 124 contacting a relay 125.

The feedout portion 20 consists of a rear lead guide 126 and a forwardly guide 128. Turning to FIGURES 23 there is shown a nozzle 130 which may be inserted within the lead guides and which receives the electrical wire as it is fed through the machine.

The nozzle consists of a generally cylindrical rear portion 132 so as to be fitted through the cylindrical rear lead guide 126, and an angular forward portion 134. Located within the wire guide is a smooth surface bore 136 to insure passage of the wire therethrough, and which terminates with a feedout opening 138 which may be angularly disposed or curved according to the particular fixture into which the wire is to be fed. The portion 134 generally has the bore 134 ending in a curved surface 140 to easily guide the wire into the fixture.

FIGURE 4 shows an auxiliary element 142 to assist in smooth passage of the wire within the fixture and consists of a channel slot 144 having an inner surface 145 and side surfaces 147. The particular use of this element is illustratedin FIGURE 5 in which there is shown a fixture 149 into which wire is being fed from the nozzle 130 7 having a reversed angularly disposed opening feeding the wire into the interior of the fixture and with the element 142 being placed at the other end to easily and simply bend the wire so that it may pass out from the interior of the fixture without causing the jamming sensor to operate and turn off the machine. The element 142 also has a threaded base 143 receiving a screw 148 to enable the depth of the element within the fixture to be adjusted.

In operation a wire is fed into the feed portion 16 where the lands 37 of the serrated wheel 36 pick up the wire and drive it between the wheel 36 and the follower and pressure roller 48. The wire then passes up the inclined passage defined by surfaces 104 and 113 and then forwardly again to the passage defined by surfaces 106 and 115 and into the wire guide 130 from whence it passes outwardly to the opening 138 and into the fixture, and may be assisted through the passage of the fixture by such auxiliary elements as 142.

Should the wire meet an obstruction within the fixture,

it will double up against the upper surface 104 of the element 98 and against the upper surface 113 of the movable portion 110. As the movable portion moves forwardly against the spring 122, the plate 118 will move forwardly also and the contact 124 will hit the relay 125, opening the electrical circuit to the motor driving the wheel 36, and ultimately causing the machine to shut off.

In a similar fashion the bolt 68, which is threaded to the yoke' 52 and positioned within a bracket 69 on the side of the pillar 56, upon being moved upwardly will make contact with the electrical circuit 79 causing the circuit between the motor and the wheel 36 to be closed once again. As a wire is fed into the machine, the follower roller 48 rises, causing an electrical contact to be made with the relay 79, and the motor is turned on. It should be noted that the relay will take precedence over the relay 79 and shut the machine oil? even though 79 is closed.

Turning to a second embodiment of the invention there is shown in FIGURE 7 an automatic wiring machine in which similar parts to the first embodiment have similar reference characters with the addition of the prefix 2 for identification purposes.

The lower carrier member 222 has a forwardly-extending shoulder portion 154 defined by a top surface 156 and a forward surface 158. The upper carrier member 240 has a front portion 160 defined by a forward surface 162, a shoulder surface 164, and a forward surface 166.

The jamming sensor 168 comprises a lower portion 170 defined by a rear surface 172 and a lower surface 174; a middle portion 176 defined by a rear surface 177; and a top portion 178. Located on the top portion 178 is an electrical contact 179 which is operably adjacent to an electrical relay 180.

The rear lead guide 181 may be of standard design construction and includes a securement member 182 having an 8-channel split collar to. insure even contraction and a bushing.

The forward lead guide 183 has a bore 184 to accommodate the wire guide 130. Plate 185 is secured to the base 282 and also a second plate185. Located on the plates 185 are bores 186 through which pass positioning rods 187 which are secured to the front guide 183. Also secured to the lead guide 183 is a threaded bolt 188 which passes through bores in the plates 185 also. Located on the threaded bolt 188 are positioning nuts 189, 190 which allow the lead guide to be securely positioned as it is moved by means of the positioning rods 187 sliding through the bores 186.

In operation, the device is similar to that of the first embodiment except that the jamming sensor simply consists of a straight passage in which the jammed wire will start pressuring against the top portion 178 which carries the electrical contact 179, which will trip the relay 180 causing the'machine to shut off.

Turning now to a third and the preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown in FIGURE 8 a'machine embodying the invention in which like elements have like parts with the addition of the prefix 3, and the new plate and has a pivotal arm 414,'the arm secured within the pillar'356 with a lower cam surface 415 abutting the spring 416. The spring rests on'the top surface of the member 404. The head 412 is in adjacent communication with a microswitch 418. The arm extends through the slot 408 and the plate 406 and ends in a pressure-adjusting member 420 which allows the arm to be moved in' an arcuate path through the slot, varying the amount of force in the spring 416, and consequently the member 404, allowing the force required from a jamming wire to turn the machine oflf to be varied. This eliminates the necessity of the machine being turned 01f with every slight pressure variation against the element 404. The rear lead guide consists of a novel four-channel split collar with a corresponding female element 426 having an interior cavity with a tapered shoulder 428 against which the collar bears. This eliminates the necessity for a long, carefully machined inwardly extending taper, as well as a split collar with more channels.

The forward lead guide 420 operates in much the same fashion as the previous embodiment mentioned, with the presence of a retaining bolt which may be tightened to maintain the said forward member in proper position.

Located on the rear of the machine is a double wire guide 434 secured to the machine and pivot 435. When two wires are desired to be fed into the fixture, this element is swung down into the lower dotted position as shown in the drawing, to insure that the wire is fed evenly at the same time to the fixture itself.

Also present in this embodiment is a manual machine stop 436 to allow the operator to turn off the machine rapidly and simply. The machine stop consists of an angle iron 437 having a top surface 438 abutting the yoke 352. The iron 437 is pivoted at 439 and is secured to an arm 440 which is biased by a spring 441. The arm is normally held in the lower dotted position by means of stop (not shown). By swinging the arm away from the stop, it springs to the upper position, causing the yoke to drop and allowing the plate 372 which is also attached to the yoke to fall and cause the contact with a microswitch (not shown) to be broken, thus turning off the machine. To deaden the noise of the drop, a rubber cushion 450 is placed on the frame of the machine and is hit by a dash pot 451 secured to the arm 437.

The final new novel feature of this embodiment is the presence of a feed on-off sensor. It is desirable to start the machine before the wire reaches it so that the wheel 336 will pick up the wire just as it approaches it and feed it in between the said wheel and the follower 3 38. On the other hand, it is desirable that the machine not be shut ofi until the last end of the wire has fed completely through the wheel and the follower roller. Accordingly, there is placed on the machine the feed on-off sensor 442 which is pivoted to the frame at 443 and consists of a member 444 riveted by rivets 445 to a second member 446. The second member 446 has a hole 447 with a spring extending therefrom to a follower 449 which is in contact with the yoke 352. When a Wire is fed into the passage, it contacts the lower surface of the element 44-.- causing the sensor 442 to pivot, raising the follower 449 and consequently the yoke 352 and the plate 372, causing the circuit to the motor and the wheel 336 to be turned on. This unit will not pivot back to its original position until the yoke 352 has dropped, which will occur only after the last part of the wire has completely been threaded through.

FIGURES -15 illustrate several variants of the wire guide depending on the design of the unit or fixture to be wired. FIGURE 10 shows a wire guide 455 with a arm 456 having an opening 457. FIGURE 11 shows a wire guide 458 having an arm 459 with a reverse bend and opening 460. FIGURE 12 shows a wire guide 461 for finer diameter wire. A plurality of sleeves 462 build up to the necessary diameter for retention by the wire lead guide. FIGURES 13-15 illustrate wire guides specially designed for swing-arm lamps.

I wish it to be understood that I do not consider'the invention limited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in this specification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

1. A machine for automatically wiring the interior of an item, which comprises:

(a) a feed portion including powered drive means receiving at least one wire and thrusting it through the machine and the item, the drive means being automatically self-adjustable to receive wires of varying dimensions,

(b) a feed out portion,

(0) a jamming sensor between the feed portion and the feedout portion to detect jamming or obstruction of wire within the machine or the item,

(d) the feedout portion including a nozzle, designed specifically for the item to be wired.

2. The invention according to claim 1, the jamming sensor including a movable member activated by the wire backing up in the machine, causing the movable member to be pushed against a switch and breaking the power drive circuit.

3. The invention according to claim 2, the drive means including a permanently mounted serrated toothed drive wheel having fiat lands and an angle between the teeth of at least 60, and an oppositely disposed follower roller which is biased toward the drive wheel and automatically self-adjustable to accommodate varying wire sizes, the wheel gripping the wire until the teeth reach top dead center at which point the land guides the wire.

4. The invention according to claim 1, the drive means including a permanently mounted serrated toothed drive wheel having flat lands and an angle between the teeth of at least 60, and an oppositely disposed follower roller which is biased toward the drive wheel and automatically self-adjustable to accommodate varying wire sizes, the wheel gripping the wire until the teeth reach top dead center at which point the land guides the wire.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,996,085 8/1961 Matheny -2 3,002,537 10/1961 Kenmore et al. 140--1 3,186,077 6/1963 Vickery 29-203 3,262,193 7/1966 Goldman et al 29--203 3,282,304 11/1966 Coleman 140-147 THOMAS H, EAGER, Primary Examiner, 

